Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-09-08

morning, as she sat IN my room anu
ocked to and tro, the clicking OF her busy
uniting needles made very pleasant mu- |
ic. It was the morning the soap-grease
nan usually put in an appearance in our
and | was anxious to have .
i'm take the jar of waste fat | had saved
or him. and receive in return the usual
piece of bright yellow soap he SO conde-
,nandinolv gave for it, and when this ex,
nance was made felt as though nad
tone INV duty in that line of Housekeeping
and had wasted nothing. AS L re.rdrned
rom the window for the twentieth time,
Aunt lydia said, .'who are you so anx-
iously looking for?"
1.-The greaseman," replied. /
s.What do You want OF him 2" She asked
again.
Il want him to take a jar OF fat l have
saved tor him."
"What for ?" she asked again.
For soapr' replied quickly.
81 suppose he gives you fine bar oil ex-
ira fine soap for your fine jar OF fat ?"said
Aunt Lydia, putting down her knitting and
looking very seriously at me.
s'Well, to tell the TRUTH | replied, "he
does not give me very fine bar. 1t is
only half bar and is not very hard. but
even that is better thau throwing away the
odds and ends of waste fat which are of
no use in any other way"
"Well,I think you are very foolish girl, "
said my aunt. "Why don't you make
soap; not soft soap. but nice hard soap? P"
..And have the house scented with the
odor of it, and perhaps then it would not
harden. No, thank you, Aunt Lydia,
prefer the Cheeseman's soap, "and was
about to say here he is now, when my
aunt interrupted me.
MARY, | will teach you how to make
soap which can be used in the bathroom
or laundry without injury in either place,
if you will let me. Let that man 60 this
morning and you will never regret it
can assure you"
| hesitated, then Welded to her persua-
sions and together we went to the cellar
kitchen which we used as laundry the
year round and also as summer kitchen
during the hot weather. After starting
fire in the stove, produced the jar of
fat and also, at Aunt Lydia's bidding, an
old sheet iron meat pan. We put the
scraps into the pan and placed them in the
oven, thus getting rid of any unpleasant
odor which was liable to arise therefrom,
and as the grease melted we strained i:
through piece of cheese cloth into lard
pail and continued to do this until we
had fully five pounds of clear drippings.
While the tat was being extracted from
the scraps in the oven, hunted out an
old boiler from among the many articles
packed away in the attic, and into this,
when all was ready. Aunt Lydia told me
to put ten quarts of water. either hot or
cold, and put it on the stove where it
would boil continually, but slowly. To
this | added the five pounds of fat; then
from the grocery store procured a pound
can OF Rabbits potash, all of which
added to the water and fat already in the
boiler.
Now" said Aunt Lydia, when the
grease, water and potash were slowly
boiling on the back of the stove, II do not
think it will be necessary for us to remain
to watch and stir this mixture occasionally.
Jane can do that, think, and you can at
tend to your sewing"
Calling Jane down stairs. Aunt Lydia
explained to her that it was necessary for
the soap to boil continually, but SLOWLY.
for four or FIVE hours. but in the mean
time it would need an occasional stirring
which might be done with the clothes stick,
and by thus stirring and looking after it
occasionally it would be prevented from
boiling over Then we went back to our
work up stairs. but during the morning |
frequently went down to inspect the soap
and found it boiling slowly but surely
without the slightest particle of a disagree
able odor, although | snutfed and shifted
in order to detect any there might be. Just
before lunch | discovered that the soap
was becoming stringy. like candy. and
informed Aunt Lydia, who smiled and
nodded and said it was lust right" Then
she wanted to know if | had any powdered
borax in the house, and | always keep
supply of that very useful article on hand,
| was not long in producing the quantity
asked tor. which was half pound.
Now" said Aunt Lydia, 81 will put
this borax into the boiler and when il is
thoroughly dissolved. the soap will be
ready~to take from the stove and pour in
to moulds. The borax needs but to dis
solve and is great improvement.
But moulds." exclaimed. that is
something know | do not possess, so
what shall do ?"
"Never mind" said my aunt. "a wash
tub will answer the purpose very well
this time, then if you think it worth while
you can procure some cheap tins which
will answer for moulds in the future"
Then she proceeded to get a small
sized washtub, into which she poured
clear cold water then, having turned out
the water. we removed the boiler and its
contents from the stove and poured the
soap into the tub and set it aside to re-
main until the next morning, when, to my
surprise, found it had hardened so that
it could be cut into bars. Aunt Lydia
superlntended the cutting of the soap,
and we placed it on a clean board and
carried it to the attic and left it there to
dry.
That lesson in soap making has amply
repaid me. The greaseman has ceased to
call, and we have not bought pound of
soap since that eventful day. Jane saves
every piece of waste fat and when she
has small quantity saved, she extracts
the fat and strains it and continues 10 do
this until she has ten pounds instead of
| five, then she adds twenty quarts of wa
ter, two pounds of potash, and one pound
of borax thus making twice the quantity
and always having excellent success in
producing fine large bars of clear white
soap. Try it my patient readers and you
will never regret it.-ANNE ALDwoRTH,